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Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining

Brazilian name canga refers to the ecosystems associated with superficial iron crusts typical for the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (MG) and some parts of Amazon (Flona de Carajas). Iron stone is associated with mountain plateaux and so, in addition to high metal concentrations (particularly iron...

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Autores principales: Skirycz, Aleksandra, Castilho, Alexandre, Chaparro, Cristian, Carvalho, Nelson, Tzotzos, George, Siqueira, Jose O.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241825/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25505476
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00653
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author Skirycz, Aleksandra
Castilho, Alexandre
Chaparro, Cristian
Carvalho, Nelson
Tzotzos, George
Siqueira, Jose O.
author_facet Skirycz, Aleksandra
Castilho, Alexandre
Chaparro, Cristian
Carvalho, Nelson
Tzotzos, George
Siqueira, Jose O.
author_sort Skirycz, Aleksandra
collection PubMed
description Brazilian name canga refers to the ecosystems associated with superficial iron crusts typical for the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (MG) and some parts of Amazon (Flona de Carajas). Iron stone is associated with mountain plateaux and so, in addition to high metal concentrations (particularly iron and manganese), canga ecosystems, as other rock outcrops, are characterized by isolation and environmental harshness. Canga inselbergs, all together, occupy no more than 200 km(2) of area spread over thousands of km(2) of the Iron Quadrangle (MG) and the Flona de Carajas, resulting in considerable beta biodiversity. Moreover, the presence of different microhabitats within the iron crust is associated with high alpha biodiversity. Hundreds of angiosperm species have been reported so far across remote canga inselbergs and different micro-habitats. Among these are endemics such as the cactus Arthrocereus glaziovii and the medicinal plant Pilocarpus microphyllus. Canga is also home to iron and manganese metallophytes; species that evolved to tolerate high metal concentrations. These are particularly interesting to study metal homeostasis as both iron and manganese are essential plant micro-elements. Besides being models for metal metabolism, metallophytes can be used for bio-remediation of metal contaminated sites, and as such are considered among priority species for canga restoration. “Biodiversity mining” is not the only mining business attracted to canga. Open cast iron mining generates as much as 5–6% of Brazilian gross domestic product and dialog between mining companies, government, society, and ecologists, enforced by legal regulation, is ongoing to find compromise for canga protection, and where mining is unavoidable for ecosystem restoration. Environmental factors that shaped canga vegetation, canga biodiversity, physiological mechanisms to play a role, and ways to protect and restore canga will be reviewed.
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spelling pubmed-42418252014-12-10 Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining Skirycz, Aleksandra Castilho, Alexandre Chaparro, Cristian Carvalho, Nelson Tzotzos, George Siqueira, Jose O. Front Plant Sci Plant Science Brazilian name canga refers to the ecosystems associated with superficial iron crusts typical for the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (MG) and some parts of Amazon (Flona de Carajas). Iron stone is associated with mountain plateaux and so, in addition to high metal concentrations (particularly iron and manganese), canga ecosystems, as other rock outcrops, are characterized by isolation and environmental harshness. Canga inselbergs, all together, occupy no more than 200 km(2) of area spread over thousands of km(2) of the Iron Quadrangle (MG) and the Flona de Carajas, resulting in considerable beta biodiversity. Moreover, the presence of different microhabitats within the iron crust is associated with high alpha biodiversity. Hundreds of angiosperm species have been reported so far across remote canga inselbergs and different micro-habitats. Among these are endemics such as the cactus Arthrocereus glaziovii and the medicinal plant Pilocarpus microphyllus. Canga is also home to iron and manganese metallophytes; species that evolved to tolerate high metal concentrations. These are particularly interesting to study metal homeostasis as both iron and manganese are essential plant micro-elements. Besides being models for metal metabolism, metallophytes can be used for bio-remediation of metal contaminated sites, and as such are considered among priority species for canga restoration. “Biodiversity mining” is not the only mining business attracted to canga. Open cast iron mining generates as much as 5–6% of Brazilian gross domestic product and dialog between mining companies, government, society, and ecologists, enforced by legal regulation, is ongoing to find compromise for canga protection, and where mining is unavoidable for ecosystem restoration. Environmental factors that shaped canga vegetation, canga biodiversity, physiological mechanisms to play a role, and ways to protect and restore canga will be reviewed. Frontiers Media S.A. 2014-11-24 /pmc/articles/PMC4241825/ /pubmed/25505476 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00653 Text en Copyright © 2014 Skirycz, Castilho, Chaparro, Carvalho, Tzotzos and Siqueira. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Plant Science
Skirycz, Aleksandra
Castilho, Alexandre
Chaparro, Cristian
Carvalho, Nelson
Tzotzos, George
Siqueira, Jose O.
Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining
title Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining
title_full Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining
title_fullStr Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining
title_full_unstemmed Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining
title_short Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining
title_sort canga biodiversity, a matter of mining
topic Plant Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241825/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25505476
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00653
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